


Shinjuku by Night

by Pinnate



Category: Persona 5
Genre: -ish I guess., Canon Compliant, Gen, Kids don't have a good time in the city at night. Basically.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-14 12:52:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13008174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinnate/pseuds/Pinnate
Summary: More like Shinjuku by Fright, amirite?





	Shinjuku by Night

\---

In actuality, they already finished the meal they ordered. Through an effort of requesting tea refills and occasionally sipping the broth remaining in his bowl, Yusuke is able to maintain a prime position for life study sketches while Ryuji maintains a prime napping position.

Through the night, a gradual change in the city appears through the window. The summer sunlight seems to last forever until it suddenly retreats behind the horizon. The city was not inherently dark at this point however - as a matter of fact, all the neon light contrasted against the obsidian sky perhaps makes it brighter.

If not somewhat eerie.

Of course, in time, his appetite for tea, the broth, and the patience of the restaurant owner all begins to wane. He gently prods Ryuji with the end of his pencil - shakes his shoulder until he wakes up.

He looks at Yusuke expectantly while tapping his own wris- right, time. The suggestion is that it was about eleven going on twelve.

Ryuji's eyes widen before he flails around uselessly - throws a few yen on the table - shoves their chairs in and bolts for the door. In contrast, Yusuke grabs the lone forgotten school bag and shoves his own sketchbook within it before straggling behind.

He really didn't understand this startled state or the need to cause a scene, but followed as Ryuji ran out of the building. There was no effort towards further explanation.

Yusuke trails behind closely as Ryuji makes his way through the streets. As the sidewalks crowd, he resorts to grabbing onto Ryuji's shoulder to keep up with him. Apparently for whatever reason, his paranoia had grown to such an extent that he stops entirely and slowly turns around. Relieved to see that it was just Yusuke, he just holds onto the other's wrist and continued walking.

Floral patterns across from triple x's, dark lights, reckless grace. Odd coupling, not unlike - The light and color of the city. The artificial and tangible aura suggests a dream in real life. Manufactured, contrived, unsettling. Some resentment flares as Ryuji ducks them into an plain alley. Which morphs into terror as two other figures corner them. Nightmare.

Obviously, these men are either suffering from strokes or had been drinking heavily. They are definitely speaking, but not very clearly, with stances far from composed.

Something glints in one's hand as he gestures at Ryuji. The smell of alcohol filled the air as he managed to duck a swipe, so the idea of calling paramedics was discarded.

Ryuji cowers in hopes of dissipating. The grip on Yusuke's wrist tightened, and he would not be surprised if it was starting to draw blood.

Unfortunately, all the shouting was doing little more than increasing the tension. Yusuke started to look around.

To the streets... obviously blocked. Fence at the end... would take too long to get to and climb. Windows on the walls... bad option. 

A combination of their slurred words and the escalating atmosphere rendered Yusuke able to process only a few words.

Somehow, his soul was tugged by fear into the very nadir of his being. This didn't seem real.

Ryuji started to grow more reckless as the attention seemed to shift from him to Yusuke, even starting to step in front of him protectively. His grip was strong, but at the same time shaking unsteadily. This was escalating quickly. 

Blocked from the front, not enough time to escape behind them... something needed to happen. Immediately.

It was time to overturn the scales in their favor.

\---

It must have been a hallucination when he saw Yusuke reach behind his neck and pull out a katana (Holy Shit). It must have been an a dream, daydream, nightdream, whatever.

But whatever really just happened scared the hell out of the men that had cornered them. They vanished, and the only sign that they were even there was a broken beer bottle. With closed eyes, Yusuke starts beginning what was probably a cool pre mortem threat.

"Now! I advise you to leave us alone, lest you-"

"Dude. Wow. Thanks?"

Yusuke opens his eyes and blinks once. His confusion sends Ryuji to the point of giggling at how anticlimactic it was. Thank god he was with him. He could hug the dude.

Then he remembers their situation and calls out Yusuke on bringing a weapon in a public area.

"It is a imitation - fake as you know." He sheaths the sword back in his (scabbard?) shirt.

"I was supposed to know?" The police would likely arrest them even if the weapon wasn't real. Things like that totally happen. They both start walking down the alley to head home.

"Nevertheless, I still am unsure if the authorities would have been very helpful." he says with a sigh. "Especially at this time." 

Conversation comes a lot easier when Ryuji isn't scared for their lives. 

As he climbs the fence, he responds "Guesso..." and jokes "It's probably my luck that we'd be sentenced for life or something." The fence rattles as he leaps down... It really is a lot more quiet away from the main streets. Yusuke tosses a school bag (was that his?) over to Ryuji to free his hands for climbing. As Ryuji catches it, something slides out and flutters to the ground. 

When he reaches the other side, Yusuke retrieves his sketchbook, brushes it off, and pausing for a moment, he motions for Ryuji to come over. Apparently, he did rough sketches of the interior of the shop.

Both leaning against the other side of the fence, they investigate the book at his request. It was a simple system with a phone flashlight held by Yusuke and sketchbook held by Ryuji. As he flips through the fifteen minute intervals, Yusuke begins to squint and request to look over some pages again.

He grimaces. "This area over here... seems to be a constant."

He flicks the flashlight towards a table of customers near the exit of the shop. As Yusuke had said, the two men sitting there seem to be the same through all the sketches.

"Yeah. You're right? So?"

Yusuke shifts next to him, reaches over and quietly taps at the table in the sketch. It is... littered with bottles of beer? Okay, big deal. Lots of people drank, they should know-

Goddammit.

He feels really really sick. Dizzy or, more like... fizzy? So the blood in his body is suddenly carbonated, that's fine. That ringing in his ears, he realizes, is the jostling of the fence as he mercilessly kicks at it. 

Yusuke gives him a smack on the back. 

What makes him stop is.  
The poor little moonflowers that were growing on the fence are definitely screwed. Who cares... It's not like they're gonna miss this hot piece of landfill anyway.

He's taken away by the wrist.

Nothing's memorable after that except talking about nothing:

"Haha... Are those lightning bugs?"

"Is that what they are called?"

"Well I guess you could say fireflies? They were out tons when we used to have a lawn. Shit, now I'm remembering this one time my cousin smushed one against his arm. It glowed all cool like but ugh."

"Interesting for pigment study but I'm certain it wouldn't last. It's kind of surreal, in actuality."

"Surreal? You know uh I tried to catch em one time there were these two on a grass blade... All still like... Together."

"That's an oddity. You're not very subtle in movement."

"Dude wait! Now that I'm thinking about it I'm sure they were... y'know. Like doing... the do."

"Copulation is natural. How rude of you to interrupt."

"It's freaky is what! These two flies were doing the same the other day! Killed em tho."

"Tragic. Can we not talk about sex."

"Fine. Your turn."

"One time long ago I had received candy floss as a treat during some event at Kanda. Possibly some kind of artistic endeavor, but what I honestly recall more is the candy. It was delicious although becoming quite sticky and unsightly under the summer heat."

"I want cotton candy now..."

"Let's complain to Akira later. That same day I also remember a reverend came over to hug some of the children. Factor in my small stature, refusal to let go of the treat and-"

"Yusuke. You're telling me that you got cotton candy over a priest's butt?"

"It most likely would cater to your sense of humor that the candy was blue and the fabric was black. He failed to notice." He pulls them into the train where they are both relieved to find seats wide open. 

"We. Should take precautions if we are to remain there that late ever again." He opens his sketchbook and hunches over to state at a blank page.

"I can't believe it, those bastards literally just waited!" Weakly, he added, "I feel uuugghh..." Ryuji watches as Yusuke slashes thick, dark lines with his pencil. Nervously, he jokes they should carry fake guns.

"I can. Attest. It happened. Perhaps. But. Well um. It's a high. Probability. Your hair. Was really. Noticeable." He suggests in between slashes. "Certainly you could don a sun hat?", he adds with a long, large scrawl over the lines.

"That'd make me stand out even more!" Ryuji cannot pin down if he is joking... Yusuke's delivery seems more bored than serious... "Besides, you so would need one too. Maybe a... an entire scarf to cover your whole face?"

Yusuke shuts the sketchbook. Oops. Well, shit. His stare bores through the bottom of the train despondently. Oh goddammit. Crap.

Ryuji doesn't plan out why, but he reaches over and gives Yusuke some weird ass amalgamation of a back pat head bump side hug.

"I'm. Sorry I didn't warn you," he blurts out.

Yusuke just fixes his stare on.  
The window facing them. It was pitch black on the outside, reflecting the bright interior of the train. They looked small staring back at themselves. 

Back and forth, tiring, everything's almost... Completely unreal.

-/-

**Author's Note:**

> +This is version 4.0 which is actually kinda low. I took a long break between edits though. Thanks for reading
> 
> +Sort of a rehash for that Shinjuku scene if you spin it because I hate it ahaha ha 
> 
> +In beta ideals the ending was supposed to be sweet but this is depressing because life kinda is right now
> 
> +The whole convo before reaching the train wasn't originally there but I decided to add it after listening to convos between guys. Legit saw a dude lose his shit over the Caillou theme song
> 
> +Funfact those stories are based on things I've witnessed/done so this fic is actually really personal. 
> 
> +Writing might end up in themes and this was definitely illusion/reality which is nice


End file.
